MSNBC.com reported recently that studies by scientists at Harvard and Yale determined hightened risk of tumor development in dental patients who were exposed regularly to X-Rays at their dental practices.

Though the risk can be real, related tumors are nearly always benign and do not result in cancer-related deaths. Further, the risk factors are nearly irrelevant for patients today since most modern practices do not overly rely on frequent X-Rays to make diagnoses or advance procedures.

Even the study’s participating scientists wanted to be clear about the main take-away for patients: “Our take home message is don’t panic. Don’t stop going to the dentist,” said the lead author of the study, Dr. Elizabeth Claus, a neurological surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and the Yale School of Public Health.